News

Here HSUS states their position on their Animal Cruelty & Fighting Campaign website: Animal Cruelty and Fighting Campaign

Look at the very last item. It's that one that is so difficult to reconcile with HSUS behavior in the courtroom in Wilkes County. I am interested in hearing their explanation and hopefully they will offer it to the media soon.

The HSUS's Animal Cruelty & Fighting Campaign works with the legal system to put animal abusers behind bars and break up organized animal fighting rings. In addition to seeking stronger laws and pushing for the enforcement of existing laws, we

Offer rewards to catch animal fighters and animal abusers;
Provide investigative and undercover assistance;
Provide expert testimony for the prosecution; and
Help to care for animals seized from abuse or fighting cases.

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This just makes me want to pull my hair out and scream. With all the amazing publicity that Micheal Vicks former dogs have received - can't anyone look at that and SEE that every animal deserves a second chance? How vicious can PUPPIES be?

I would have hoped that ALL groups who purport to be animal advocates, would do everything in their power to SUPPORT LIFE.

Sigh.

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Two most recent articles from the local newspaper:

Wilkes begins to put down pitbulls seized from breeder
By Monte Mitchell | Journal Reporter
Published: February 17, 2009
WILKESBORO
Wilkes County Animal Control began this morning to euthanize more than 127 pit bulls associated with Wildside Kennels, an operation that bred fighting dogs, according to county officials. The county was carrying out a judge's order from Monday.
The dogs were seized Dec. 10, 2008, in a raid on the kennel and had been held as evidence in a case against kennel owner Ed Faron and two associates. Faron was sentenced last Thursday to 8 to 10 months in prison for 14 felony counts of dog fighting. The last of the three defendants was sentenced Monday and the dogs were ordered destroyed.
According to the judge's ruling, state law defines dogs as dangerous if they are involved in a dog fighting operation and a county ordinance requires that dangerous dogs be destroyed.
The dogs should all be euthanized by the end of today, county officials said. The exact number of dogs is still unclear because several litters of puppies had been born since the raid.
The raid was the result of a 3-year investigation by The Humane Society of the U.S., in cooperation with Wilkes County Animal Control and the Wilkes County Sheriff's Office.

Judge orders that pit bulls be destroyed
County law requires action; Humane Society, others back the court's decision
By Monte Mitchell | Journal Reporter
Published: February 17, 2009
WILKESBORO
A Superior Court judge yesterday ordered that Wilkes County destroy more than 127 pit bulls seized from a dog-fighting ring, angering people who had offered to adopt the dogs or help with their placement.
"Those dogs are going to be killed solely because of prejudice," said Ledy VanKavage, an attorney for Best Friends Animal Society, which had offered to pay to have the dogs evaluated and to spay or neuter the adoptable dogs.
"They should be judged as individuals just as people are," VanKavage said. "It's a massacre."
County officials have said they would abide by a judge's order, but that the judge didn't have a lot of choice. They said that state statutes define dogs involved in dog-fighting operations as dangerous and that a county ordinance requires that dangerous dogs be destroyed. That was yesterday's finding by Superior Court Judge Ed Wilson Jr.
The 127 pit bulls, including about 60 puppies, were seized on Dec. 10 during a raid on Wildside Kennels. It's unclear exactly how many dogs there are now. The dogs are being held in a secret location, and several litters of puppies have been born since the raid. After court yesterday, county officials estimated that there are about 150 dogs now.
Kennel owner Ed Faron, 61, pleaded guilty Thursday to 14 counts of felony dog fighting and was sentenced to 8 to 10 months in prison. His adopted son, Donni Juan Casanova, 18, pleaded guilty to one count of felony dog fighting and was given a suspended sentence of 6 to 8 months.
Amanda Grace Lunsford, 25, the third defendant in the case, pleaded guilty yesterday to a misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals. She had originally been charged with felony dog fighting.
Lunsford is Casanova's fiancée and had been living at the house less than a month at the time of the raid, her attorney said, and her role was to feed and water the dogs. Lunsford was sentenced to 45 days, which was suspended for 24 months of supervised probation.
A judge had awarded the dogs to ¬Wilkes County last month after Faron failed to pay $52,925 that the county had requested for boarding and care of the dogs.
Wilson ordered the dogs destroyed yesterday after hearing from a prosecutor, the attorney for Wilkes County government, Wilkes County's animal-control director and two representatives from The Huma

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Jennifer and staff - thanks so much for this article highlighting the painful issue and what we need to do to fight this battle appropriately.

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Do we know where the HSUS is getting all this money. How much do they take in every year? I've never gotten anything in the mail from them asking for a donation. They don't have a single shelter, foster home or adopt out a single animal? What is their pitch for getting donations then?Maybe they're getting money from like a shadow group that believes pitbulls, feral cats and anything else that sits in a cage for more than a week should be destroyed. Maybe PETA is helping them out. Who knows anything is possible. They get millions of dollars also from somewhere even though they've never asked me for a dime.

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Dog Bite Fatalities Plummet 33% in 2008!
By promoting responsible ownership, we can work toward making this a trend in upcoming years!

Slanesville, WV (PRWEB) January 8, 2009 -- Despite the increase in the human population of the United States to more than 300 million, and the canine population to almost 74 million, human fatalities attributed to domestic dogs fell by one-third in 2008, over the number reported the year before, Karen Delise, Director of Research for the National Canine Research Council, announced today.

"The fantastically rare incident of a dog killing a human being was even rarer in 2008 than it was the year before," Delise said.

The Council has identified 23 canine-caused fatalities for 2008, as compared with 34 the prior year. Officials investigating the 2008 incidents claim to have identified 10 different breeds or types of dogs in connection with these 23 fatalities, though experts caution that breed attributions are usually made on the basis of physical impression, and should not be considered reliable.

Delise points out that, while annual tallies fluctuate dramatically in percentage terms, the raw numbers have remained within well-defined limits. "Because there are so few incidents, relative to the human and canine populations," Delise notes, "a rise or drop in the number of cases exerts a misleading effect on the percentages."

For example, there were more incidents in 1990, 25, than there were in 2008. In 1998, there were 10. In 1999, there were 27. In 2000, there were 19. Delise, who, over the past 20 years, has investigated fatal attacks extending back into the 19th century, does not consider these fluctuations significant.

"Based upon my research, the number of these incidents is not trending one way or the other, Delise said."

Further, Delise points out that the fluctuations in both the annual total of incidents and in the breed identifications of the dogs implicated, pale before the constant factor that emerges from these incidents: the failure of owners to humanely care for and control their dogs.

In the overwhelming majority of the cases Delise has studied, cases extending as far back as the 1960's, the dogs involved were not family dogs, that is, dogs that lived in the home with the family. Rather, they were maintained outside the home, in pens, yards, or on chains, and/or were obtained for the negative functions of protection, fighting or guarding. Many resident dogs are also victims, to varying degrees, of human neglect or abuse.

The Council will publish its final 2008 report later in the year, following further investigation into the circumstances of last year's fatalities. Civil and/or criminal proceedings against irresponsible owners, are pending in a number of cases.

About Karen Delise/The National Canine Research Council

Karen Delise is the Founder and Director of Research for the National Canine Research Council and the author of "The Pit Bull Placebo: The Media, Myths and Politics of Canine Aggression". (Anubis Publishing) She can be reached at kdelise @ ncrcouncil.com.

The National Canine Research Council publishes well-documented, reliable research to improve the lives of dogs and the communities in which they live.

On the web at: www.nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com

Source: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/01/prweb1831554.htm

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nicole,

You confuse me.

You say 'We have to stop this senseless, brutal murder by HSUS'........yet you put up petitons from HSUS.

You can't ride the fence on this one......either you are with the HSUS or you aren't. Condone what they did or don't. But you can't have it both ways or your cake and eat it too.

We have another case just like this to tackle now-in the county to my right. Very close to home. I am going to post some names and numbers later today...for those that wish to pls call and tell them to NOT let this murdering happen again.

I also belong to a group called www.care2.com
It's an awesome site and group and we fight many different causes--animal rights is one.
I am a strong activist----but I will NEVER be a part of the HSUS again. They are as guilty as the 'judge' and the ones who didn't put up a fight to save these ones without a voice.
I know many were trying....but got stonewalled until it was just too late. It was done on purpose and HSUS had a hand in that as well.

Make up your mind please. Either with HSUS and what they do OR you aren't.

Sorry...just the way I feel. And no, I did NOT -for once--sign the petitions. Nothing ever again by the HSUS--unless I do it by mistake.

God bless and thank you for caring.

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WHAT A GREAT ARTICLE - FINALLY !!!!
Thank you Eddie !

Michael Vick's pit bulls recovering
Toronto Sun

http://www.torontosun.com/sports/football/2009/02/06/8295701.html

By Eddie Pells, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Last Updated: 6th February 2009, 3:58pm

KANAB, Utah — There are the perky, high-energy sorts like Lucas, all wagging tails and let’s-go-play vivaciousness.

There are the runners like Curly, who never saw a fence line or dirt trail they couldn’t wear down.And there are the divas like Georgia, who go on publicity junkets and stay at the Beverly Hilton, wearing rhinestone-studded collars and hot pink tank tops that say “Biscuits are a girl’s best friend.”

They could be your dog, your neighbour’s, even one of those you see in a magazine being doted on by a celebrity owner. These, though, are Michael Vick’s dogs.
Fourteen months after some experts left them for dead — in fact, said they should die — they are alive and thriving at the Best Friends Animal Society in the rocky red hills of Utah, rewriting the book about what pit bulls really are and what they can be.

Most of these dogs will find homes someday. None of their ilk, however, will be welcomed next week at America’s best-known dog show, Westminster, at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The American Pit Bull Terrier is the country’s iconic and most divisive breed, but it isn’t on the American Kennel Club’s list of accepted breeds. The AKC recognizes a cousin, the American Staffordshire Terrier, instead.
“I don’t really have anything to say about pit bulls because we don’t deal with them at all,” said David Frei, the director of communications at Westminster. “But AmStaffs are great dogs. I make the same blanket statement about them as any breed. There are no bad dogs, only bad owners. If someone gets involved with pit bulls and isn’t bright enough to be the alpha dog in the relationship, there can be problems.”

American Pit Bull Terriers — a quintessentially American breed once best represented by the dog staring quizzically at an RCA Victor phonograph — are bred to be exceedingly kind and deferential to humans. But that trait has largely been lost among the thousands of stories about pit bull bites, maulings, fights and anti-pit bull legislation. Those stories have helped make the dog Public Enemy No. 1 among the 400-plus breeds, 170 of which are on the AKC registry.

“Often, the media gets it wrong,” says Michelle Besmehn, the dog care manager at Best Friends, who acknowledges that part of the Vick project is to restore the reputation of the American Pit Bull Terrier. “They’ll say a person was mauled by a pit bull, and it’s not a pit bull, it’s a Mastiff or something else,” she said. “It’s frustrating because they get a bad rap, and it’s based on a general misconception.”

Tim Racer, co-founder of BAD RAP (Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls), puts it more bluntly. “If an AmStaff bites somebody, it suddenly becomes an American Pit Bull Terrier, because that’s what people want to do, is blame these dogs for all dog bites,” said Racer, whose group also saved 10 of Vick’s dogs.

The former Atlanta Falcons quarterback is serving a 23-month sentence at the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kan., for his role in a dogfighting conspiracy. He is scheduled for release July 20 but could serve the last few months at a halfway house in Newport News, his hometown.

One of Vick’s former dogs was euthanized because of health — not behavioural — problems, and 21 remain at the Best Friends sanctuary. It’s on 1,500 hectares near the Zion National Forest, with a canyon outside the lunchroom and enough reds, browns, greens and pinks to keep a painter at his easel for life. These were the toughest cases, the most neglected of the 47 dogs rescu

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all dogs have a right to be judged on their behavior and if they are a danger to others both animal and human,just killing these dogs because of their breed and not being intersted enough in saving the life of dogs that could be usefull in many ways to the people who would like to have them and love them is very poor judement and in the case of the puppies what have they done other then be born and be a pit bull ,this is breed bias...stop this order till the dogs can be put in place that can help them and judge them one by one......

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On a hunch...and knowing my state...I backed someone in a corner.

They were NOT 'euthanized' with lethal injections. Too many to do so quickly.

Many were gassed in 'gas chambers'-a horriffic way to die.as well as a slow way.....some others were used for 'target practice'.

Am I crying now? NO. I am furious. Wayyyyyyyyy past furious.

Oh, they'll deny it to their last breath I am sure.....but I did get the truth. I knew it all along. God I knew it all along.

May you have NO MERCY for each one who had a part in this when they go before You. Just as they had no mercy these helpless little ones you just took into Heaven.
May they scream just as I know these little ones did--but may their screams be for eternity.

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This is HSUS on the Vick dogs from a New York Times article in July 2007.

“Officials from our organization have examined some of these dogs and, generally speaking, they are some of the most aggressively trained pit bulls in the country,” Wayne Pacelle, the president and chief executive of the Humane Society of the United States, said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “Hundreds of thousands of less-violent pit bulls, who are better candidates to be rehabilitated, are being put down. The fate of these dogs will be up to the government, but we have recommended to them, and believe, they will be eventually put down.”

"Pacelle said the Humane Society normally advocated that fighting dogs be put down shortly after being seized. “It is lose-lose for the dogs,” he said. “They either die a gruesome death as a dogfighter in action, or they will be killed because they are not adoptable.”

HSUS failed to kill the Vick dogs, so instead made sure it did it in North Carolina.

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I was on another site--saw this and started making phone calls. I was born and raised and live in NC.

IT IS too late. They were ALL killed...babies and all.

I write this as I am crying and not ashamed to admit it. I can barely see the PC screen.

Once again it was NC.....always NC. I am furious, ashamed....so many things right now.

I am going to the HSUS site and revoke my membership.......I WON'T be a part of a group that does THIS. I refuse to be.

Bad thing is: not far from where I live now more were found in Gates Co. WE HAVE TO STOP THIS. IT IS BARBARIC AND CRUEL BEYOND WORDS.

May those little ones they were in such a rush to kill today find peace and happiness over the Rainbow Bridge--maybe playing with my 2 who already crossed over it and are waiting for me.

Rest In Peace little ones..we tried--they just refused to hear.

Sorry.......have to go-am crying too hard.

God bless each of you

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If there is a ban on owning pitbulls in some states is there also a ban to breed,sell or buy them there?

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I signed the petition.
My anger and hurt runs deep over this case. I don't know what its going to take to stop this kind of thing from happening but we all have to come together and help BF and other organizations that are fighting against this. We may have lost this battle but we must not lose the war.
Please speak out, write this N.C. Senator. They do listen when they get overwhelmed with emails, etc.

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Faron's a 2x looser guilty of dog fighting again all they do is smack him on the hands. offer him life in jail and then see if he would wanna try a 3rd. time. I am so angry right now, all of these beautiful dogs that have to suffer, these poor pit bulls and baby's killed by ignorance and fear. This is America dont these dogs have any rights. We have to stand up for them all.
Rita From Brooklyn

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About who one is for and who one isn't for ... I have been doing this work for a very long time and I always when the job is done right - give credit and support and help ! When it isn't - I do not support the campaign. I will sign any petition which has the aim to help animals, no matter who is putting it out. There are lots of big organisations out there, I most certainly don't agree with some things however ...... it is the animals we let down by the end of the day when we don't make a stand for them, no matter who is putting out the appeal.

Just my two pennies worth on that subject. And as for gassing and shooting my God - what century are we living in here ! At one time while working in Kenya with the SPCA animals had to be shot because we didn't and couldn't get the drugs at the time and it was done to animals who were injured or very sick and something had to be done immediately to end their suffering - not because of overcrowding but believe me, they would never even cosider GAS no matter the situation !

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The ape was given Xanex before it flipped out. Another avoidable death. It also sickened me the way the story was portrayed on the news as if it was a circus for people to laugh and gawk at. It probably never occured to people watching it how tragic it was because of the way the news handled it.

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Can we get numbers? Can we get e-mails.

I saw that the dogs were destroyed.... it is disgusting! The person is running free while these poor creatures paid for the owners CRIME!!!

I am disgusted ..... it;s not the dogs it;s the humans!!! if you read the 2 nd link it is simply gross what people say.. We have become of nation of hypocrites Oh a new nation of hope but let us take our hate on dogs....

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The posted comments on the 2nd link that nicol mentioned just shows how ignorant people are and how they can be swayed by media and uneducated public opinions.
I am SO confused about the HSUS and other organizations. I have always thought they were good but I guess I need to do more research.
I am sticking with local organizations that I know.
There is an HSLA (Humane Society of Louisiana) that DOES operate a shelter but it is in MS - the local one was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and they did not get money to rebuild. As fas as I can tell, they are not affiliated.
Last year, there were more than 150 dogs and cats euthanized in a Tangipahoa Parish Animal Shelter in Louisiana. Supposedly because of a virus - which was a lame excuse since the virus does not effect both species. As far as I can tell, they got away with it. It was on the news and in court then died down. I have no idea what has happened to the shelter director or others involved.
Please keep the pressure on the people in NC. These pups don't need to die too!!!

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There is a petition on "Care 2" under animal welfare in reference to the euthanizing of the Wilkes County dogs. Anyone can access this and sign the petition. Please all of you sign this petition you don't have to live in North Carolina to do this. Hopefully this will be some help in our efforts to stop what HSUS is doing.
Kathi

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dianaj, that is a really great point. When we call and email make sure you say where you are located. They might perk up their ears and take notice if what they're doing is making news around the country and so many people are outraged.

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here is the petition. please sign and forward to others.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/hsus----wilkes-county-animal-control-senator-stan-bingham16-w-jones-street-room-2117-raleigh-nc

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The success and happy endings of the Vicktory dogs WHO WERE GIVEN A CHANCE :

http://vickdogsblog.blogspot.com/

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What or who is HSUS? They must be destroyed before they can do anymore harm. Little puppies can hurt no one. When will the carnage be stopped? I cannot believe that these letters stand for the Humane Society of the United States. People tell me this is not so. This organization stands for butchery not humanity towards animals.

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Tell me that these letters do not stand for the Humaine Society of the United States. They are butchers not humanists.

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you have to be kidding hsus is the humane society of the united states!!!!!

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mkwewer:
I also am in North Carolina. What information can you give me in regard to Gates County, or where will I be able to find something out? Please everyone don't let this happen again like Wilkes County.
I also have sent an e-mail to Senator Stan Bingham this morning.
Please let me know what else can be done.
Thank you Kathi

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We have to stop this senseless, brutal murder by HSUS.

Ellen is to receive an award from HSUS at end the end of March. The very same HSUS who has just slaughtered 146 pit bulls (about half were puppies, some just a few weeks old) in Wilkes County, North Carolina. We need to ask Ellen to help get HSUS to stop this senseless killing.

PLEASE SIGN the following 2 petitions The first is targeted at Ellen and the second at the officials of Wilkes County and HSUS.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-hsus-from-killing-pitbulls

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/hsus----wilkes-county-animal-control-senator-stan-bingham16-w-jones-street-room-2117-raleigh-nc

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It definetely looked as though HSUS was a hired mouthpiece. Their views and policies are run by an old school failed philosophy. This whole courtroom show was a scam.

And just when we thought it couldn't get more heartbreaking we find out most of them were stuffed into a gas chamber. I had wondered how they killed so many dogs in one day. They needed to hurry up and do it since people were rallying together wanting to put a stop to it.

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I too have been a long time supporter of the HSUS, but have always known there are several things they believe that I do not agree with. But I've always determined that the good outweighs the few bad things (I may need to rethink this now). I also have found most local shelters that I support and even volunteer with have some policies that I want to change (Best friends probably even does some things I don't like now and then) - but I have found the most effective approach is to try to get involved and push for changes from within.

Anyway, I find it very difficult to stop supporting an organization that does so many things that are good...it tears me up. Maybe it is better to stop supporting them altogether, I'm just not sure...

But I do want to point out that the HSUS does rescue dogs. They don't operate a shelter, but I personally have a dog that was transferred by the HSUS out of a Houston shelter after damage from hurricane Ike, and moved to the SPCA of Texas (none of these shelters are affiliated with each other, by the way). So, they do fund and operate rescue operations, but not shelters.

So I am torn - since one of my own dogs benefitted from the HSUS.

Also, please realize that no other Humane Societies are associated with the HSUS (just like no other "SPCA" organizations are associated with the ASPCA) - just think of "humane society" and "SPCA" as generic terms.

Anyway, I also signed the petition and will continue to rethink my support strategies. Regardless of what HSUS does, I guess we all need to make sure DO support Best Friends so they can continue to provide a voice for these dogs that should be given a second chance.

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well, I applaud the BF effort on behalf of the Faron dogs, but the press release is a day late and a dollar short. This was an opportunity to expose HSUS for the hateful liars they are, but BF et al pulled their punches. It was obvious that HSUS needed these dogs to die, for preserve their tattered credibility after the great success of the Vick dogs, alive despite HSUS efforts.

I hope BF etc follow up, so the dog's sacrifice is not competely in vain. HSUS is the ENEMY of dogs.

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I wanted to add a wonderful site that is a great resource to check out any charity that you might be looking into helping: guidstar.org. You can sign up for free and then you are able to view the Tax Return form 990 on ANY charity that is registered as non profit (note that the returns are a few years old but it still give you a great idea of how much a charity takes in & gives back)- take a look at HSUS it is INSANE how much $$$ they are taking in and what the salary expenses are, I will NEVER again support this "non profit"!!!

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babydoll:
I used to believe HSUS is doing good, just as Nicole did. And our rep Dave Pauli of HSUS Rocky Mt. Region is doing that. He killed the Mt pit bill. He is now trying to kill the horse slaughter bill.

One evil self-appointed moron like Goodwin of HSUS, who approved the killings - and was very quick to write back to me to save his face - it is him in this case who ruins the whole - I hope HSUS can distance itself from the likes such as Goodwin.

So this fiasco is a HUGE learning experience for many like me, who heard rumors of HSUS not doing their job, and now I see it. The fact that they hire arrogant clowns within their organisation is slapping them in the butt now. Too bad.
They brought it on to themselves.

So don't lecture Nicole - she is doing what she can, so am I. We need to support each other and not bring our spirits down. This case has blown many people's mind, not just yours.

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i think we need laws that call for all politicians and district attorneys to be euthanized. generalizing them is much more reasonable than generalizing dogs. they are much more dangerous to society as well.

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ellen mostly cares about her own publicity. she will accept the hsus award. i am sure of it. i'd be very pleasentlysurprised if she proves me wrong

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Without these dogs even getting an evaluation and just given a swift death sentence, they are being victimized all over again. It's bad enough what the dog fighters did to them but then they are treated totally unfairly once they are "rescued" from these situations. They are just taken out of the hands of one killer and put into the hands of other killers. This shouldn't be happening in our country. Our governement is totally out of control. Whatever happened to a government that is working FOR the people. Because the people DON'T want this.

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forget about ellen she is a nice person but dont wait for a stars help! its people like you and me and those that write in and ask to stop this its like with that poor ape that was killed by the people when he attcked the women you know that man should not have had that ape in the first place and to let it drink alcohol and sit in his truck with him what kind of life did he have the cop should have shot the guy not the ape,some people should not have animals at all....dog fighters are cowards and have no sense of self the dog is their extention of their manhood!

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I agree with Cornwall's Voice for Animals below: it is the animals we let down when we don't make a stand.

I discovered only today that HSUS has a major campaign called Animal Cruelty & Fighting Campaign. Now this is a laudable campaign, which helps dog victims of dog-fighting and abuse.

But how does this campaign square with HSUS' reps in the Wilkes County court, who argued that the puppies and dogs were too dangerous to live?
HSUS Animal Cruelty & Fighting Campaign

As others have suggested here, there are times when one has to make a stand. I am confused as to what stand HSUS takes on the issue of these dogs. They do take dogs from dog-fighting situations(see the campaign's website), which is good. But in Wilkes County they then ordered the rescued dogs killed.

I, for one, am baffled by the behavior of HSUS.

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I have been reading this since last night and I am ashamed..... I am digusted and all i could is cry for these poor innocent victims..... I tried calling to fidn out what happened to them and was given the run around.. so I left messages showing my digust!

This makes me sick

If you can give us information about Gates County... we can start the calls and e-mails NOW.... I will to call or e-mail ... When I call and say I am from NY they are shocked because the news is going out to the net.... makes them more aware that it's not jsut the state is all OF AMERICA FIGHTING FOR THESE DOGS!

please give us information to do right by these dogs!

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here are articles about another 12 or so fighting dogs that have just been seized in north carolina. can we save these?

http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_wavy_alleged_dog_fighting_ring_uncovered_20090218

http://hamptonroads.com/2009/02/pit-bulls-seized-nc-146-wilkes-destroyed

http://www.wvec.com/news/topstories/stories/wvec_local_021809_gates_co_dogfighting.2a3a9fe4.html

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Please post a comment asap here:
http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_wavy_alleged_dog_fighting_ring_uncovered_20090218

the people in Gates Cty. are bickering about who should get the credit of busting a dog ring of 11 pits and 2 rotties... no one talks about the dogs...

Please post - and tell them to focus on changing the law and quit wasting time on bickering about their local sheriff.... For God's sake it is unbelievable !!!!

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To BB

Humans fear what they don't understand
and sometimes what they fear they kill.
But I know your heart and you know mine
I miss you now and always will.

I think of all that could have been.
I fought for you but couldn't win.
They took your life and some of me too
But there's one thing they couldn't do:

You're part of me and when I die
you'll be there, we'll be eye to eye.
And once again you'll dance for me.
I'll kiss your head and you'll be free.

The sweetness of just you and me.
You're an angel, they couldn't see.

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babydoll27909 –

I almost had a heart attack and fell out of my chair when I read your comments. You COMPLETLEY misunderstood my post and you clearly did NOT read the petitions.

Both petitions are AGAINST HSUS.

This first petition is asking Ellen DeGeneres to decline an award HSUS will be giving her and Portia at the end of March. She should reject the award until HSUS abandons its policy of killing fighting dogs.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-hsus-from-killing-pitbulls

This second petition is targeted at the officials at HSUS and North Carolina and telling them that the massacre of those innocent dogs is completely unacceptable and this must never happen again.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/hsus----wilkes-county-animal-control-senator-stan-bingham16-w-jones-street-room-2117-raleigh-nc

PLEASE everyone SIGN these petitions. If enough people sign, HSUS may be forced to abandon its policy of killing dogs.

Also please contact Ellen directly via her website:

http://ellen.warnerbros.com/show/

Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you are able to leave a message for her.

Ask her to reject the award from HSUS. Tell her that if she accepts it, it will mean that she agrees with its policy of slaughtering pit bulls.

If anyone knows how to get a phone number for Ellen or contact her directly, please help.

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It's official....All of the Ed Faron Widside Kennel dogs from Wilkes County, NC are dead, including the two puppies that someone still had at their house and had nursed back to good health. The HSUS made them bring those two puppies back to be killed.

Very depressing day.

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A dozen dogs were seized this morning in Gates County, NC. How can we prevent this from happening to those dogs? How can I help? I am in North Carolina.

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mkwewer - Call BF and ask for Ledy VanKavage. She is the senior legislative analyst for Best Friends’ national campaign to save pit bulls and their mixes.

Please BF .. we cannot let more dogs die like this..

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Someone has to answer and take responsibility for this mass killing. Please Best Friends let's make this horrible case just as well known as the Vick case so their deaths will prevent others from suffering the same fate.

Rest in peace my sweet angels we fought so hard to save you. You should be here with us instead so we could give you the love you needed.

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People, we can do something. Ellen DeGeneres is a huge fan of Best Friends. She had John Garcia, co-manager of Dog Town, on her show in December with Georgia, one of the Michael Vick pit bulls. She also has a cross posting on her website for Best Friends.

She and Portia will be given an award by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) on March 28th. Please see:
http://www.ecorazzi.com/2009/02/11/ellen-degeneres-and-portia-de-rossi-to-be-honored-by-hsus/

We can all write to her and ask her if she knows that HSUS publically campaigned to have Georgia and all the Michael Vick pit bulls killed and continues to maintain that stance to this very day. Yes, the same dog she had in her studio, HSUS wants dead.

We can inform her that just today in North Carolina about 150 pit bulls, half of them puppies, were massacred as HSUS claimed the dogs were dangerous. This happened despite Best Friends, BAD RAP (Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pit Bulls), Animal Farm Foundation, Villalobos Rescue Center, and Downtown Dog Rescue all offering to rescue these dogs, have them indivually assessed, have them neutered/spayed and placing them with these experienced rescues before finding them loving, forever homes. Sadly the judge only heard HSUS. There was no one there standing up for the dogs and hence 150 “Georgia's” were slaughtered. Loads of us called and e-mailed the officials, but to no avail.

We can suggest to her that if she accepts the award from HSUS, she will be agreeing with HSUS’s stance on killing the Vick and other fighting pit bulls.

We can let her know that the HSUS does not operate a single pet shelter or pet adoption facility anywhere in the US. During 2006, HSUS contributed only 4.2 percent of its budget to organizations that operate hands-on dog and cat shelters.

We can let Ellen know that beginning on the day of NFLquarterback Michael Vick’s 2007 dogfighting indictment, HSUS raised money online with the false promise that it would “care for the dog seized in the Michael Vick case.” The New York Times later reported that HSUS wasn’t caring for Vick’s dogs at all. And HSUS president Wayne Pacelle told the Times that his group recommended that government officials “put down” the dogs rather than adopt them out to suitable homes. HSUS later quietly altered its Internet fundraising pitch.

We can let Ellen know that John Goodwin, HSUS’s animal fighting “expert” has no experience with dogs. He has a long arrest record, a former Animal Liberation Front member/spokesman with a history of promoting arson to accomplish animal liberation.

We can beg her to please help these dogs and stop the senseless slaughter. We can ask her to:
1) Ask Best Friends about HSUS and the Vick dogs; ask about what just happened in North Carolina. Ask her to read: http://network.bestfriends.org/stopbsl/news/32259.html
2) Ask her to have her researchers do research on HSUS.
We can tell her she has a chance to change things, that she speaks from a place of power and influence. We can urge her to do the right thing – to not accept the award and explain why publicly. We can ask her to dedicate a segment of her show to revealing the true nature of HSUS. This will save countless other dogs just like Georgia.

The address is:

The Ellen DeGeneres Show
PO Box 7788
Burbank, CA 91523
Attn: Fan Mail


If enough people write to Ellen, she might take the time to follow up on this. You cannot e-mail her, as her site only allows very short e-mails. Let’s make sure those dogs didn’t die in vain.

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What a wonderful way to remember these souls by helping uncover the evil doings of HSUS.

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In order to fight BSL (banning of pit bulls) - please click on the following link. The message goes direct to President Obama and your elected officials.

http://www.rallycongress.com/stop-breed-banning-/1584/stop-breed-banning-now/

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I have been heart sick for the past few days over this story. My two youngest dogs looked just like the puppies in those pictures and with love, patience & training they are sweet & wonderful family members, what a horrible outcome. Also SHAME on the HSUS.

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arreté de comdamner des animaux et mettez les hommes face a leur responsabilité c'est tellement plus facile de sent prendre a ceux qui ne peuvent ce défendre et choisir cette facilité c'est participer a ce que cela continue car sa ne fera que reporter sur d'autre race de chien mais ne résoudera rien Soyez responsable
merci pour eux ils le meritent

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On a hunch--and knowing my state---I cornered someone and got the truth.

They were NOT 'euthanized' by lethal injection. Too many to do in such a short amount of time. Most were put in 'gas chambers' and gassed--but a slow, horrible way to die.......others were used for 'target practice'.

I'm not crying anymore....I am FURIOUS.

God, may You show NO mercy to each one who had anything to do with this as they showed none to these little ones you just took into Heaven with You.

May THEY scream for all of eternity as I know these loving 4 legged gifts did.

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see my notes on B/F's "Stop BSL News" and on "North Caroliona News"

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